Ken Uehara was a Japanese American man from San Francisco, CA. Sent to a Japanese internment camp, he had strong opinions on the U.S.'s treatment of Japanese American citizens during World War II and was not afraid to express them.
On The Terror: Infamy, Ken Uehara was portrayed by Christopher Naoki Lee
History[]
Many months after the arrival of the Terminal Island residents to the Colinas de Oro War Relocation Center internment camp, Uehara is a new resident there, having just been sent from San Francisco with his parents and brother. He has an older sister that was sent to Manzanar, which he says sounds terrible. While talking with Chester Nakayama and a few others, they witness nisei putting up posters for recruitment of translators for the war effort.
Later, he has lunch with Chester, Amy and Walt Yoshida, and Yamato-san. He seems to get on well with Amy, and Yamato-san comments to Chester on the possibility of a budding romance. Together, they all witness as Hideo Furuya attempts to strangle his own son to death. ("Gaman")
By February 1943, he has formed a much more intimate relationship with Amy. They are now seeing each other regularly, and having passionate nights together secretly in the barracks. The two, however, came into conflict when Ken Uehara objected to the Statement of United States Citizen of Japanese Ancestry, a form that all of the Japanese Americans at the camp were required to fill out to prove their loyalty. He felt that the form was a trap, that anything they answered on it would be used against them.
He began trying to rouse others at the camp to either not fill out the form, or in particular, to answer "no" to questions 27 and 28 on the form. Question 27 read "Are you willing to serve in the armed forces of the United States on combat duty, wherever ordered?" He felt that any man who answered yes to it would be drafted any who didn't would be imprisoned. Question 28 read "Will you swear unqualified allegiance to the United States of America and to faithfully defend the United States from any and/or all attack by foreign or domestic forces, and forswear any form of allegiance to the Japanese emperor?" which he objected to on the basis that he had lived in the United States his entire life and therefore had never swear allegiance to anyone in Japan in the first place. Amy told him that it was just stupid answers and to just say "yes," but he was adamant that he couldn't live with himself if he did.
Ken eventually turned in the survey, having answered "no" to questions 27 and 28. He told Amy that she didn't want a boyfriend who would answer "yes" to the questions. However, after he left, she sneaked over to the pile of papers and changed his answers to both questions to "yes." Ken was later present when a soldier, George Nicol, came to take those who had answered "no" to the questions to a "high security" camp. Ken was shocked when he wasn't taken away and teased for being a coward. Realizing what Amy had done, he confronted her in the barracks. She told him that he was at least still there and begged him to listen, but disgusted, he walked away from her. ("Shatter Like a Pearl")
Ken Uehara, just before being slaughtered
He was greatly troubled by an outbreak of a dangerous lung illness at the Colinas de Oro and tried to get Amy to get help from the camp's supervisor, Major Bowen. She told him that she had done the best that she could, but he was not impressed by this. He paid a visit to Bowen's barracks himself, only to find Bowen in a crazed state, having been briefly possessed by the Bakemono Yuko Tanabe. Although Ken tries to explain to him that there's a medical emergency, Bowen grabs him, convinced that he is in some way associated with Yuko. He knocks Ken to the ground, demanding to know what "she" wants from. They get into a tussle and Ken takes possession of Bowen's gun, telling him that if he wants a demon, he's got one.
He ties Bowen to a chair, knocked out. Amy comes by and knocks on the door, and discovers what he's done. He tells her that he's going to make Bowen send in the ambulances when he comes to, since she won't do anything. This spurts her to action and she calls the ambulances on her own initiative, but using Bowen's name. She returns with several soldiers, and Ken warns that he'll shoot Bowen if they do anything. Bowen negotiates for him to stand down, saying that he never really believed all of the stuff about a spirit, but that the first thing you're taught when being held captive is to act crazy. Ken says that he'll remember that at Tule Lake. Amy pleads for Bowen to show mercy, asking him to take into consideration that he was just trying to get those who needed it medical help. Bowen says that he already has. There is shouting from inside the barracks and a gunshot. Amy, realizing what has just happened, screams in terror. ("My Perfect World")